Together for Spirituality

After I attended the national Catholic AIDS Conference in Chicago last year, I observed that one aspect of support for people living with HIV/AIDS, their families, partners, caregivers and friends not being addressed by AVNK was spirituality. It was thus that I approached the AVNK Governing Council. In its desire to address the HIV/AIDS issue from a holistic approach, the Council recognized this need and gave me their blessing to inaugurate the Together for Spirituality Support Group.

SPIRITUALITY is not synonymous with RELIGION. Religion is defined by Webster as the service and adoration of God as expressed in forms of worship according to the tenants of a particular faith system and its beliefs. Spirituality, on the other hand, flows from our faith beliefs and deals with our personal relationship to God, from whom our strength and courage emanate. Spirituality is part of our desire to live life as responsible, caring, loving human beings with regard to ourselves and to others.

Thus the stated PURPOSE of the Together for Spirituality Support Group is to share with group members the source of our strength and courage to face everyday life in general and the challenge of HIV/AIDS in particular. It is not a "how to" class in religion. It does not espouse a specific philosophy or religious belief. Although to date the group has been based on Judeo-Christian principles, other faith expressions will always be welcomed. Our faith beliefs, and how those faith belief give us the hope to live, not merely exist, is the essence of what we explore. We also talk about how we can live our faith beliefs in our relationships with others.

The GUIDING PRINCIPLES of the Together for Spirituality Support Group may be summed up by the following quotations:

God said . . . "we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us." (Genesis 1:26, Good News Bible translation).

You (God) love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. (Wisdom 11:24, New American Bible translation).

You have made us for yourself alone, O God, and our hearts are restless till they rest in you. (St. Augustine, Confessions).

We also spend time with the personal agendas of the members of the group.

The Together for Spirituality Support Group MEETINGS are open to everyone. You do not have to be a member of AVNK to participate. After a time of social gathering and refreshments, the informal meetings begin with a silent prayer or reflection. Thereafter, each person is given the opportunity to share his or her thoughts and feelings about experiences during the previous week. From these a discussion topic may be chosen. Occasionally the facilitator will present a topic either in the form of a quotation or a handout. The meeting concludes with the SERENITY PRAYER.

As with the other Support Groups, GROUND RULES are few: complete confidentiality, ‘I’ statements only, respectfulness of other’s beliefs and feelings, no proselytizing, sharing of beliefs and ideas only, no advice unless asked for and, in general, treating others as we want to be treated.